CI Recap (7/10/18) – Cubs 2, Giants 0: Jose Quintana Shines as Cubs Shut Giants Out

After Kyle Hendricks delivered his best outing of the season on Monday night, the Cubs looked to get a similar result from Jose Quintana. As we all hoped, Q was fantastic Tuesday night in San Fran. He allowed only three singles, walked two, and struck out three while allowing no runs over six innings of work. The Cubs’ bullpen (Edwards, Wilson, and Cishek) also held the Giants in check, tossing three scoreless innings without allowing a baserunner.

The Cubs offense was mostly quiet, but were able to push across two runs in the top of the seventh. Addison Russell reached on a double, was able to reach third after a good dirt-read, and then scored on an errant throw on the same play. Victor Caratini followed later in the inning with a double that was crushed off the RF wall to score Ian Happ from first. That was the only scoring either side would do on a night that pitching reigned supreme (Box Score).

Why the Cubs Won

For the second straight night, the Cubs and Giants participated in a pitcher’s duel. Giants’ starter Derek Holland matched Quintana for six innings, but tonight the Cubs were the ones to push across just enough run support to win. Quintana, Edwards, Wilson, and Cishek allowed just three hits in the Cubs eleventh shutout victory of the season.

Key Moment

After Addison Russell hit a double in the top of the seventh, he tried to advance to third on a wild pitch. Giants catcher Nick Hundley threw wide of third, which allowed Russell to score the first run of the game. The Cubs ability to force their opponents hand with their expert baserunning continues to pay dividends for this team.

Stats that Matter

• David Bote went 2-2 on the evening before being swapped for Kyle Schwarber. Bote was the only Cub to reach base more than once.
• The Cubs bullpen didn’t allow any Giants to reach base. Steve Cishek got his third save of the season, taking over the closer duties tonight with Brandon Morrow getting some planned rest.
• This was the Cubs’ 11th shutout victory of the season.
• Jose Quintana has posted a 3.00 ERA over his last 14 starts.

Bottom Line

The Cubs were able to get a late lead and hold it. The pitching has been dominant for the Cubs in the first two games of this series, and tonight they were able to do just enough on offense to make it count. They still remain 1.5 games behind the Brewers for first place in the NL Central with a 52-37 record.

On Deck

Mike Montgomery and the Cubs will try to win the series tomorrow at 2:45 CT. Johnny Cueto will take the ball for the Giants. The game will be broadcast on CSN-Chicago and MLB Network. We could possibly see Kris Bryant in the lineup tomorrow, so be on the lookout for that!